HLV Mai Đức Chung: 'Vietnam team strives step by step'

The Vietnam women's football team lost 0-1 to Chinese Taipei and must wait until the final match on March 10 to know whether they advance to the quarter-finals and their position in Group C of the Asian Cup 2026.

Regarding the Vietnam women's team's chances of advancing, coach Mai Đức Chung stated: "Currently, it is difficult to calculate precisely because many factors are unclear. We will strive step by step, as we said from the start of the tournament. We cannot rely on external factors, but must rely on our own efforts."

The Vietnam women's team has a decisive match against Japan at 16:00 on March 10 to determine their chances of advancing in the Asian Cup 2026.

Regarding the 0-1 loss to Chinese Taipei, coach Mai Đức Chung said: "Clearly, the Vietnam team's performance today was not good.

The opponent also weakened significantly in the second half, but we did not utilize the opportunities well. I congratulate the Chinese Taipei women's football team on their victory. We made just a slight mistake, a lapse in concentration, and lost."

Further explaining the reasons for the defeat, coach Mai Đức Chung noted: "First, the hot weather greatly affected the players' stamina.

Second, we lost composure, at some moments lacked concentration, leading to poor coordination and inaccurate passes. These factors caused us difficulties in the match.

In the second half, the team played better, creating more opportunities. However, due to inaccurate ball placement and lack of smooth coordination, the attacks were not highly effective.

Additionally, players like Thanh Nhã, Vạn Sự, Dương Thị Vân were also affected by the hot weather, their stamina declined, leading to a noticeable drop in performance."

In the 5th minute, Saki Matsunaga had a low shot inside the box but was blocked, before Yu-Hsuan created space for Chen Jin-wen to take a shot that missed the goal five minutes later.

After the 0-2 loss to Japan in the opening match, Chinese Taipei showed renewed determination. Their speed on the left flank continuously troubled Vietnam's defense and ultimately led to the opening goal in the 26th minute.

Chen Yu-Chin coordinated well with Huang Ke-sin before finding Hsu Yi-yun, who assisted for Matsunaga to shoot. The ball hit the crossbar and rebounded to Yu-Hsuan's position, and this forward headed it in from close range.

Three minutes later, Vietnam missed a chance to equalize when Hải Yến assisted Trần Thị Duyên inside the box, but this midfielder shot off rhythm and sent the ball wide of the right post.

The match pace unexpectedly intensified towards the end of the first half, and Chinese Taipei nearly scored a second goal during stoppage time, but goalkeeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh excellently blocked Wu Kai-Ching's strong shot.

After the break, Vietnam improved as Trần Thị Hải Linh and Huỳnh Như were introduced. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei suffered a setback in the 56th minute when Yu-Hsuan was injured and had to leave the field, replaced by Li Yi-Wen.

The new factors almost allowed Vietnam to make a difference in the 67th minute when Thái Thị Thảo passed through for Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy, but this forward's shot was blocked by Su Sin-Yun.

Chinese Taipei continued to suffer further personnel loss when Pan Yen-Hsin replaced Chang Chi-lan in the 84th minute. However, Vietnam could not penetrate the opponent's defense at any point.

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